Distillation apparatus with internal decanter



June 8, 1954 B. C. SKINNER DISTILLATION APPARATUS WITH INTERNAL DECANTER Filed Dec. 22. 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORN EYS.

June 8,A 1954 A B. c. SKINNER 2,680,709

DISTILLATION APPARATUS WITH INTERNAL DECANTER Filed Dec. 2?., 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Tulln.

INVENTOR l Pan/5am @JZ/movi@ www ATTO R N E YS.

June 8, 1954 B, C, SKINNER 2,680,709

DISTILLATION APPARATUS WITH INTERNAL DECANTER Filed Deo. 22, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lg /6 INVENToR.

` Pa/vso/v f fm/NE@ Bf @www Patented June 8, 1954 UNITED STATES `FFICE DISTILLATIN APPARATUS WITH INTERNAL DECANTER Bronson C. Skinner, Dunedin, Fla., assigner to Clinton Foods Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware 3 Claims.

The present invention relates .to apparatus for l separation of liquids of different specific gravities liquid during initial operations within the apparatus.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide such a piece of apparatus which is selfcontained and which eiciently will separate liquid of certain specific gravit-y and vapor pressure from heavier liquid having a lower vapor pressure by vacuum distillation and condensation to separate all of the lighter liquid with a fraction of the heavier liquid as a rich mixture from the remainder or main body of the latter, and which then automatically separates the components of the rich mixture by floatation with return of heavier liquid to its main body in a unique and simple manner.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such apparatus which may be used efciently to separate oily substance comprising terpenes from fruit juices at undamaging temperatures, such as the removal of peel oil from citrus fruit juices, and which is vastly simpler than the complicated and very costly equipment com-V monly used foi` like purpose, the replacement of which constitutes one purpose of this invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structural embodiment thereof which may be readily constructed and which permits efcient use and operation thereof.

Other objects of the invention `will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts, which will be exempliiie-:l in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

'For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in Y parts of a connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational View of typical citrus juice canning plant employing an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view, with parts in section and broken away, showing certain evacuating and control structure of apparatus of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is an elevational section of the embodiment of the device of the present invention shown in Figs. l and 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified form of the apparatus of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view, with parts broken away, of certain of the elements of the floatation separator employed in the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and with the outer casing vertically broken away and sectioned to show those parts;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken substantially on line l--l of'Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of parts of the condenser shown in Fig. 3, indicating the use of the lower jacket duct as a cooling water inlet, Vequipped with a now regulating valve.

Referring tothe drawings, like numerals identify similar .parts throughout and, as will be seen from Fig. l, a typical plant layout for removing peel oil from citrus fruit juices for the purpose of reducing peel oil content of fresh juice to be canned may comprise a juice storage tank IIJ, a pump Il connected in a pipe line l2 leading from the storage tank to a flash pasteurizer .13. The outlet of the latter is connected by a pipe line 1A; to the inlet of de-oiler apparatus l5 of the present invention. The outlet of de-oiler I5 is connected by pipeline I6 to a known type of can filler Il.

As will more fully appear by reference to Figs. 2 and 3, de-oiler l5 preferably comprises a cylindrical casing or tower shell i8 having a coned bottom I9 centrally ported and connected to the outlet pipe i5. In the form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the de-oiler casing IS may be reduced in section at 93 to accommodate a reflux condenser 20 of lesser diameter than chamber 2l provided within `the ,hollow casing. Preferably the lower portion of the casing I8 .is made in sections, as siown in Fig 3, with sections 22 and 23 meeting and preferably bolted together at 24 to facilitate mounting parts within the chamber 2 i The reflux condenser 29 is also preferably made as a separate unit, comprising a water jacket 25 fitted with header plates 26, 26 in which are mounted a plurality of open-ended vertical tubes 2l'--2, and that reiiux condenser heat exchanger is mounted and preferably bolted to the top of section 23 at 2S. A cool water supply pipe 29 may supply cooling water to the top of the jacket 25 and outlet pipe 36 may discharge the cooling water therefrom, but it is to be understood that the flow of water through the condenser may be reversed if desired. A dome 3i preferaby caps over the top end of condenser unit 20 by being bolted to the top end thereof, and the interior of that dome may be communicated through a collar 32 with a steam injector or jet 33, bolted together as shown. Jet 33 is provided with a steam supply inlet 34 and has an outlet 35 open to atmosphere, for the purpose of evacuating the interior of the casing or tower i8.

'Ihe degree of evacuation within the casing I8 may be automatically controlled by a pressure regulator of known type or by automatic control of the rate of now of cooling water through the condenser as will appear hereinafter. For example, there may be installed at 36 a pressure regulator of the diaphragm type which, as is best seen in Fig. 2, may comprise a relief pipe 3l connected into the side of collar 32 and fitted with a valve 38 having an air intake'port 39. Valve 38 is suitably connected by linkage s0 to a diaphragm 4! in a diaphragm chamber 42.

Pipe 43 connects pipe 3'! to the compartment oi il chamber 42 on the side of diaphragm 4i opposite the connection of linkage 46 thereto so as to reduce the pressure in that compartment as a vacuum is drawn in the casing I8 by the steam jet 33. A weighted lever 44 pivotally mounted to linkage 4Q opposes the force applied to diaphragm 4! by the evacuation in the top compartment of chamber 42. Thus, with adjustment of the weight on lever 44, the degree of evacuation in casing i8 may be predetermined and automatically maintained at such predetermined value, since that diaphragm pressure regulator will permit a controlled rate of ilow of air into port 33 with undesirable increase in evacuation by steam jet 33. If desired, there may 'f be substituted for pressure regulator 36 a regulator 45 of any well-known type, such as a spring loaded regulator, connected into the side of the chamber 3' as suggested in Fig. 3.

Within the chamber 2i there is mounted a loatation separator 46 which may comprise a cylindrical container 47 having a bottom 48, with its open top closed oi by a collecting funnel 49. The container 4l is spaced on at least one side from the inner' wall of shell I8 and preferably is concentrically and coaxially mounted within the chamber 2i by means of a supporting spider 148 having the arms thereof mounted to or on the inner surface of the casing wall to permit fluid passage. Collecting funnel 49 is of substantially greater diameter at its mouth than the diameter of a circle circumscribed about the outermost condenser tubes 21-2'! so that drippings therefrom will fall into the funnel mouth. Funnel 49 is provided with a discharge tube 50 preferably closed off at its bottom end by plate 5I and provided immediately thereabove with a plurality of outlet holes 52-52 to assure discharge into container 4l in horizontal directions.

A stand pipe 53 has its, open top inlet end 54 located at a point appreciably above the bottom 48 of container al' to determine an interface or water level Wh The bottom end of stand pipe 53 extends down through container bottom 48 so that its open discharge end 55 will spill liquid directly into the bottom of casing i8. Another stand pipe 56 is similarly mounted in container 41 with its open top intake end 57 located at a point above interface level WL, such as a distance of about one-haif inch (1/2), to predetermine collection level OL" of a lighter liquid. Open discharge end 58 of stand pipe 55 extends down through container bottom iii to spill into an open top receptacle or cup 59 having a discharge tube 6E connected thereto and leading through the bottom or" casing 53. A guard or baiiie tube 6i is placed about stand pipe 53 and preferably is mounted coaxially therewith with its upper end extending above OL by support of its bottom end on the container bottom 48. Suitable inlet holes 62-62 are provided in the bottom of baile tube Si to permit passage of heavier liquid in the bottom of the container il into the space-between outlet stand pipe 53 and that tube.

It will be noted that the ioatation separator cylindrical container il is spaced laterally inward of the inner walis of chamber 2i an appreciable distance. This space is provided so that the spaces between the arms of support spider 43 may cooperate therewith in providing for fluid passage between the bottom portion of casing i8 and condenser unit 20, The bottom portion of chamber 2i defined below fioatation separator 46 and its support spider i3d constitutes an explosion area or compartment 63 into which the ou*- let of stand pipe spills and into the side of which is tangentially let supply or inlet duct or pipe i4 for the purpose of feeding' thereto heated juice or liquid mixture. The tangential arrangement of the connection of supply pipe i4 with compartment 63 at 3d is preferred in order to discharge under relatively high pressure the heated liquid mixture along the circular wall of that compartment, to cause a swirling act-ion of the liquid sprayed thereinto, thereby facilitating evaporation.

The operation of apparatus of the present invention, an embodiment of which is shown in Fig. 3, may best be understood by a description of a typical operation of a plant set-up similar to that shown in Fig. 1 when empioyed for the purpose of de-oiling citrus fruit juice. Government regulations for Grade A orange juice permit a tolerance of orange pecl oil, comprised chiefly of terpenes, or" 0.03%, and similar requirements are made relative to grapefruit or biended mixtiu'es thereof. For the purposes of improving avor, it is desirable to have an amount of the peel oil up to the tolerance limit present. Further, it is .not desirable to de-oil all of the juices since loss or delicate flavoring principles, such as aldehydes and esters may be attendant upon de-oiling. Accordingly, it has been found to be desirable to de-oil only a portion or" fresh juice and then miX that portion with another portion of fresh juice which has not been de-oiled. In a typical run, fresh orange juice may, for example, contain about 0.04% peel oil, and it may be desired to reduce the oil content to below the tolerance limit, such as to 0.02%. Accordingly, iifty percent (50% of the fresh juice will be de-oiled and then mixed with another fty per cent (50 Qf .frCSh ,illico which has not been de-oiled.

@accorse The fresh juice which is to be de-oiled is *kept in storage tank 1il!! where 'the temperature thereof may be in the neighborhood of .seventy-five to eighty degrees Fahrenheit ('75-80 FL). That 'juice in storage tank l0 is pumped through pipe l 2 by pump I-l and through the iiash pasteurizer I at a lhigh pressure. The juice is heated in the pasteurizer i3 to a temperature in the range of about one hundred and ninety degrees Fahrenheit (19()o F.) to two lhundred and sixty-live degrees Fahrenheit (265 F.) and, for the purposes of illustration, may be there heated to a temperature of about two hundred degrees Fahrenheit (200 EH). Supply or inlet pipe or duct Hl feeds the pasteurized juice under high pressure to the tangential inlet at 64 for theexplosion compartment 63, where it is discharged in -a whirling spray about the circular walls of that compartment.

There is required evaporation of water in the orange juice in an amount of about two per cent (2%) in order to completely remove therewith the 0.04% of peel oil in vapor form. As a factor of safety, the apparatus may be 'adjusted to evaporate three per cent (3%) of the water content so as to assure complete removal of the oil. Heat given on by water as it is vaporized is approximately 1134 B. t. u.s per pound of water, and thus the three per cent (3%) thereof to be vaporized for complete de-oiling will give approximately 34 B. t. u.s. This requires reduction of the temperature of the liquid approximately thirty-four degrees (34), which, with a starting temperature of two hundred degrees (200), dictates a final temperature of about one hundred and sixty-six degrees (166) In order to maintain this latter temperature, evacuation to an absolute pressure of 11.12 oi mercury is required. The evacuation is accomplished by the steam jet 33, and the control of the degree of evacuation to that value may be automatically maintained by the diaphragm pressure regulator 36, or the pressure regulator 45, or by the regulation of the temperature of the condenser water as explained hereinafter.

With the maintenance of that degree of evacuation, the juice as it is sprayed through the tangential inlet at Si! will explode and about three per cent (3%) of the water content of the juice will evaporate along with complete evaporation of the lighter peel oil which has Ia higher vapor pressure. rlhe mixture of vapors will pass up through the spaces between the arms of the support spider 54S, between the flcatation separator container il and the inner wall of chamber 2l, and up to and into the tubes 2'1-21 oi the reflux condenser unit 20. During this upward passage of vapors, tiny droplets of entrained juice may collect on the walls of the upper casing or shell section 23 to flow theredown toward the coned bottom i9. there to be remixed with the major portion of the water content and the vjuice solids, to be discharged out through the `juice outlet conduit I6. The mixture of vapors oi oil and water will condense on the inner walls of the condenser tubes 21-2?, due to the chilling thereof by the ow of cool water through the jacket 25. The resulting condensate drips directly down from the bottom ends of the condenser tubes .2.1-2.1 into the open mouth of funnel 43, and, of course, the temperature of the cooling water and the length of the condenser tubes may be such as to assure complete condensation of those vapors in the condenser unit at the degree of evacuation maintained by the pressure regulator, -so "that '6 they will not be ldrawn upwardly into the top of the rtower vor collar 3.2 by the revacuation at steam jet 33.

In starting the .operation of the de-oiling plant, the oatation `separator container 4'! will be iilled with a body of water .up to 4the .interface or WL level. As the mixture of condensed water and oil ilows :down :into the .funnel 49, itis discharged through the funnel tube via the holes eZ-SZ `at the bottom thereof, well beneath the surface voi .the body'oi water 65 in `separator container 41, in lateral directions, as indicated bythe arrows in Fig. .3. Since the oil is of less vspecific gravity, it will rise to the top of the body of water 65 to collect thereon at tt. As the quantity of water in body 65 is increased, it rises through holes d2-62 in the bottom of baille tube .6| and iiows out .at the top intake end '54 of .stand pipe 53, and thence from the discharge end '55 of the latter down into the bottom of the shell -or casing to be remixed with the major portion of the water content of the juice and the juice solids, thereby constantly maintaining the original water content .of 'the juice. The locations and the arrangements of the outlet holes 5.2-52 :in the bottom of the funnel discharge tube E0 and the intake holes 62-62 in the bottom of the baiiie tube 6I, are vso related as substantially to isolate one from the other, preventing any direct flow of oil condensate component from the funnel discharge into the bailie tube so that no oil will be returned to the juice with the water condensate.

The body E6 ci oil on the top of the body 65 of water will gradually increase in volume until the OL level rises above the intake end v5l of stand pipe 55. Oil will then iiow down stand pipe lie out of its discharge end 53 into Areceptacle orcup 59, to be gravity `fed therefrom by pipe 5t into oil receiver Bl. This floatation separation of the oil is assured by the fact that the specific gravity of water is .about eight and three tenths pounds per gallon '(8.3 lbs. per gal), kwhile that of the peel oil is .about seven pounds per gallon (7 lbs. per gal.)

Preferably the receiver El is provided with a quantity of water, down into which the bottom end 68 of discharge pipe B0 well extends vto provide an effective water seal so that the vacuum in the tower shell will not be broken thereat. In order to accomplish this purpose, the length of oil discharge pipe 60 should be such that the degree of evacuation in the chamber 2l will raise the water in vthat'pipe to a height of about twenty to twenty-two feet (20-22') above the water 'level inreceiver 6l'. Overflow feed of oil condensate to the receptacle or cup 53 will gradually drive the waterdown discharge pipe Se until the oil eventually is discharged at the bottom end 53 thereof into the body of water in the receiver 61 to rise and iloat upon the surface of the body oi water therein. Cup 59 should be suiliciently higher above the water level in receiver 5'! as "to to assure maintenance of a liquid seal with the oil level below the rim of that cup when pipe 60 becomes iilled with oil to discharge into the receiver.

The de-oiled juice, including all of its water content, due to the re-mixture of the small per-- centage of water condensate (3%) therewith, will be fed by juice outlet rvconduit I6 to a suitable can iiller mechanism of well-known type at Il. That de-oiled juice will there be 'mixed in suitable proportions with juice which not been deciled (such as 50% of each) to `reduce the -.o'1l coni tent' of the mixture-to the desired degree. Such admixture at the can filler Il may be accomplished by feeding pasteurized juice which has not been de-oiled thereto for such admixture from any suitable separate source, or a by-pass conduit may be connected between pasteurizer I3 and can ller feed conduit i6 and have associated therewith suitable valve mechanism to proportion the iiow of pasteurised juice through that by-pass and up through the pipe itl to obtain the desired proportions of de-oiled and oil-containing juice at the can ller. If the proportions thereof are to be nity per cent of each, one-half of the pasteurized juice will be by-passed directly from pasteurizer i3 to the conduit I5, and the other half will be forced up through pipe M to be fed to the dc-oiier l5.

In the modication shown in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, de-oiler l5 comprises a tower shell |80 which is preferably of constant diameter throughout its entire height, including condenser unit 2S. es a result, collecting funnel 149, serving as a top for separator container 4'?, may be of smaller diameter than the bottom of the condenser unit. Accordingly, in order to assure ow of all condensate drippings from the bottom of condenser unit 2l! into the floatation separator container :il via its discharge tube |50 ypreferably provided with a lateral outlet 152 by elbowing the bottom of that tube, such funnel structure may be supplemented with additional collecting means. This additional collecting means may comprise a ring 69 in the form of a truncated cone having its upper ilared edge of a diameter greater than the diameter of a circle encompassing the outer row of condensation tubes 2li- 2T of condenser unit 28, and with its lower smaller end supported by suitable brackets lil-'HJ upon the top of separator container M or funnel 49. The oil outlet for the container 4l' cornprises a pipe iitting 'il communicating with the interior of the container through the side wall thereof and connected by a union coupling 12 to the end of discharge pipe extending through the side wall of the shell |89.

The separator container 47 is preferably supported upon a iinned cenrifugal. separator ring 248 having spiraled iins or blades 73 to provide swirling of vapor mixture and entrained juice droplets when passing upwardly therethrough so as to throw the latter out against the inner wall of the shell. The separator supporting ring 248 also preferably includes a circumferential ange "M which extends therebelow with its bottom edge seated within an upwardly cupped circumferential ledge l5. lect on the inner wall of the shell 18d, will run down into the circumferential ledge l5 and eventually overflow the latter down into the bottom of the shell, there to admis with the major portion of the juice for discharge out conduit I6. Of course, a plurality of spaced apart brackets may be used in lieu of cupped ledge T5 for support of blade ring 242i, with liquid flow down the inner shell wall therebetween being permitted.

The juice inlet or supply duct or pipe Il! extends substantially tangentially completely through the side wall of shell H33 into compartment 63, and, preferably, terminates therein in a ared or fan-shaped discharge nozzle IS so as to assure the production of a spray of juice against the inner wall of the explosion compartment.

It is also possible to control the degree of evacuation by maintaining the water in the jacket of the reflux condenser at a temperature Entrained juice droplets, as they coll at which some of the vapors rising in the condenser tubes will pass upwardly to the steam jet evacuating means to overtax it to an extent which results in accurate maintenance of the degree of evacuation. This can be accomplished by employment or" a flow controlling valve in the cooling water supply pipe, operated either as a thermostatic valve with its thermostatic bulb element immersed in the cooling water or located in the vapor space above or below the condenser, or as a diaphragm vacuum regulator with its diaphragm chamber evacuating tube connected to the vapor space below or above the condenser. For example, as indicated in Fig. 8, the apparatus of Fig. 3 may be modied by omitting regulator d5 and its connecting pipe and reversing the now of cooling water, in through lower pipe 3! and out through upper pipe 2S. A flow controlling valve 'li' may be mounted in the cool water inlet pipe 3B. Portion or casing 'i8 of valve 'il may house a spring loaded valve stem connected to a Sylphon or bellows element the interior of which may be communicated by duct le with the usual thermostatic bulb element or capsule (not shown), together containing a thermally expansive liquid. The construction and operation of such a thermo- `static valve is so well known asV to need no detailing here. That bulb element or capsule may then be immersed in the cooling water, as by being located at a selected point within jacket chamber 25, such as at 3G, or even in the upper pipe 29, serving as the outlet.` 1i desired, the capsule or bulb element may, instead of being immersed in condenser cooling water, be located in the vapor space, either below condenser 29 in casing section iSQ, or above the condenser within dome Si. Valve ii may be of the vacuum operated type, such as valve Se, with the casing 78 housing the structure of valve 36 shown in Fig. 2, and with its chamber evacuating tube i9 connected either to the vapor space below or above condenser 2Q, either to casing section i90 or dome Si.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments or" the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features oi the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Apparatus for separating liquids of diferent specic gravities and vapor pressures comprising, in combination; a hollow, closed, substantially vertical casing; means to draw a vacuum in said casing; discharge means for heavier liquid in the bottom of said casing, an explosion area intermediate the tops and the bottom of said casing to effect initial vacuum distiliation separation, inlet means to supply to said area 'a heated mixture of the heavier liquid and lighter liquid, an open-bottomed condenser means in the top of said casing to condense vapors oi a rich mixture of the lighter liquid and a fraction of the heavier liquid as they rise from said explosion area, iloatation separator means mounted in said casing intermediate said condenser means and the explosion area to collect drippings of mixture condensate from the former, means providing md passage within said casing between the explosion area and said condenser means, means to deliver the lighter liquid after rloatation separation above an interface level in said senarator means out of the latter and said casing, means to deliver the heavier liquid after iloatation separation from below the interface level directly back into the bottom of said casing for remixing with initially separated heavier liquid for discharge therewith, collecting means located between said floatation separator means and said condenser means and being of a lateral dimension greater than the open bottom of said condenser means, provision being made for vapor passage from the explosion area to said condenser means past said collecting means, said eolleetingr means comprising a funnel top for said floatation separator means, and a duct leading from said funnel top down into said floatation separator means and having an outlet below the interface level.

2. The apparatus as dened in claim 1 characterized by the provision of said floatation separator means as a cylindrical container spaced from the walls of said casing and closed 01T at the top by said funnel with the latter arranged beneath said condenser means.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 characterized by the provision in said loatation separator means of a heavier liquid delivery duct having an intake at the interface level, and baile means isolating the delivery intake from lighter liquid collectable above the interface level, said baffle means having heavier liquid intake below the interface level and above the outlet of the duct leading from said funnel top.

References Cited in the le of this patent -UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 83,430 Winans Oct. 27, 1867 834,759 Saunders Oct. 30, 1906 1,176,428 Callow Mar. 21, 1916 1,248,950 Tokheim Dec. 4, 1917 1,670,053 Steiens May 15, 1928 2,072,206 Hetzer Mar. 2, 1937 2,205,336 Beach June 18, 1940 2,264,403 Payne Dec. 2, 1941 2,410,633 Counselman Nov. 5, 1946 2,411,809 Rupp et al. Nov. 26, 1946 2,423,746 Zahm July 8, 1947 2,428,927 Briggs Oct. 14, 1947 2,450,097 Singleton Sept. 28, 1948 2,471,893 Pulley May 31, 1949 2,510,138 Pulley et al.` June 6, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 152,573 Germany Apr. 19, 1903 15,371 Great Britain 1905 419,360 Germany Sept. 28, 1925 

1. APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING LIQUIDS OF DIFFERENT SPECIFIC GRAVITIES AND VAPOR PRESSURE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION; A HOLLOW, CLOSED, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL CASING; MEANS TO DRAW A VACUUM IN SAID CASING; DISCHARGE MEANS FOR HEAVIER LIQUID IN THE BOTTOM OF SAID CASING, AN EXPLOSION AREA INTERMEDIATE THE TOPS AND THE BOTTOM OF SAID CASING TO EFFECT INITIAL VACUUM DISTILLATION SEPARATION, INLET MEANS TO SUPPLY TO SAID AREA A HEATED MIXTURE OF THE HEAVIER LIQUID AND LIGHTER LIQUID, AN OPEN-BOTTOMED CONDENSER MEANS IN THE TOP OF SAID CASING TO CONDENSE VAPORS OF A RICH MIXTURE OF THE LIGHTER LIQUID AND A FRACTION OF THE HEAVIER LIQUID AS THEY RISE FROM SAID EXPLOSION AREA, FLOATATION SEPARATOR MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID CASING INTERMEDIATE SAID CONDENSER MEANS AND THE EXPLOSION AREA TO COLLECT DRIPPINGS OF MIXTURE CONDENSATE FROM THE FORMER, MEANS PROVIDING FLUID PASSAGE WITHIN SAID CASING BETWEEN THE EXPLOSION AREA AND SAID CONDENSER MEANS, MEANS TO DELIVER THE LIGHTER LIQUID AFTER FLOATATION SEPARATION ABOVE AN INTERFACE LEVEL IN SAID SEPARATOR MEANS OUT OF THE LATTER AND SAID CASING, MEANS TO DELIVER THE HEAVIER LIQUID AFTER FLOATA- 